A standby generator is for use during a power outage…whether the outage lasts two hours, two days or two weeks. Standby means that it is basically sitting there, waiting until it’s needed. It senses the power outage and turns on automatically, whether you’re there or not. The size generator you need depends on what you want to power during the outage. You can power just a few things, like the furnace, some lights and the refrigerator (basically the essentials) or you can have a larger size that will power the entire house. Of course there are also sizes in-between.

The air conditioning condensing unit that sits outside works hard. If this unit is sitting in direct sunlight, it’s working even harder, so give it a break. Plant some trees or shrubs nearby to give it some shade. You’ll want to choose something that won’t drop pods or seeds on the unit.

Be careful how close these are planted to the condenser so that our technician can still have easy access when servicing the unit. The condensing unit also disposes of hot air and you don’t want the plants damaged. In the ideal scenario, your house will also benefit from the additional shade the landscaping will provide.

When the cottonwood trees lose their seeds and the air conditioner happens to be running, the cottonwood seeds get sucked into the air conditioner coils. It’s important to keep the unit free of these cottonwood seeds. Turn the unit off for a little while and give it a much needed rest. While it’s resting, take a moment to hose down the condenser and wash away the cottonwood seeds. Too many cottonwood seeds on the unit forces it to work harder due to lack of air flow while also preventing the unit from operating efficiently.